Day Massage · Chaska, MN
Futon (Thai) massage in
Chaska, MN.
Futon (Thai) massage is done on a padded mat on the floor, not a table. You stay fully clothed, there is no oil, and the therapist uses acupressure with assisted stretching and yoga-like positioning. In Chaska it runs 45 minutes for $80.
Futon (Thai) massage — 45 min $80 · 1 hr $90 · 90 min $130 · fully clothed, no oil
Open daily · Mon–Sat 9 AM–9 PM · Sun 9:30 AM–9 PM Chaska Commons, Chaska
At a glance
- What "futon" means here
- A firm padded mat on the floor. Not a fold-out couch, not a massage table. The whole session happens at floor level.
- What you wear
- Everything. You stay fully clothed start to finish — loose clothes you can bend in. No draping, because nothing comes off.
- Oil
- None. No lotion, no oil, nothing to shower off afterwards. You can go straight back to work.
- What the therapist does
- Acupressure along the body, plus assisted stretching and yoga-like positioning — you get moved as much as you get pressed.
- How active you are
- More than on a table. You'll be asked to let a limb go heavy, to breathe out as a stretch opens, sometimes to press back. Participatory, not passive.
- Lengths & prices
- 45 min $80 · 1 hr $90 · 90 min $130. No 30-minute version. Gratuity is not included.
— Floor level, fully dressed
"Futon" means a mat on the floor.
A firm padded mat, about the footprint of a single bed, laid out on the floor of the room. Shoes come off at the door. Everything else stays on — you lie down in what you walked in wearing, and no sheet goes over you, because there's nothing to cover.
The therapist works at your level rather than above it: kneeling alongside you, sitting behind a shoulder, standing at your feet, moving around the mat as the session goes. No table anywhere in it, and no bottle of oil. It's what first-timers notice first, and it stops being noticeable in about ninety seconds.
The name is two words from two places. Futon is doing its original job here — a padded mat, not the fold-out couch in somebody's basement. The work itself is Thai-style bodywork, sold elsewhere as Thai yoga massage or, irritatingly, "lazy man's yoga". On our menu it's one service under both names, Futon (Thai) Massage, because half the people who want it search for one word and half for the other.
- Futon = padded mat on the floor. Not a couch. Not a table.
- Fully clothed throughout — no draping, because nothing comes off.
- No oil and no lotion — nothing to wash off afterwards.
- You get moved — folded, extended, rotated — as well as pressed.
- Bookings are 45 min $80, 1 hr $90, 90 min $130. There is no 30-minute version.
— The mechanics
What actually happens on the mat.
You start on your back, and the opening minutes are usually feet and legs — a mild shock if you arrived expecting to begin face-down with your face in a padded ring.
From there it alternates between two things. Pressure: the therapist works along a limb or the back with palms, thumbs and forearms, holding at points rather than gliding through them. That's the acupressure half, and because there's no oil nothing slides — the contact stays in one place and sinks rather than sweeping.
Movement: the therapist takes an arm, a leg, a hip or your whole torso into a supported stretch, holds it, then brings it back. You're never holding your own weight — that's what "assisted" means. The therapist is the frame and the counterweight, which is why positions work on the mat that you couldn't get into on your own living-room floor.
This is where "participatory" becomes literal. You'll be asked to let a leg go heavy, to breathe out as a stretch opens, occasionally to press back against a hand. It isn't hard work, but it isn't nothing either, and people who fall asleep on an oil table generally don't fall asleep here. The therapist finds the end of your range and stops; your half is saying when that end arrived early.
— Side by side
Futon (Thai) versus the oil massage.
The fastest way to decide is to set it beside the massage everyone already knows — the standard oil session, Swedish or deep tissue, on a table.
| Futon (Thai) massage | Oil massage — Swedish or deep tissue | |
|---|---|---|
| What you wear | Loose clothes, on the whole time | Undress to your comfort level; draped under a sheet throughout |
| Oil | None | Warm oil throughout |
| Where you are | Padded futon mat on the floor | Cushioned massage table |
| What the therapist does | Acupressure held at points, plus assisted stretching and yoga-like positioning | Gliding and kneading strokes; slower, focused deep-tissue work on request |
| How active you are | Participatory — you're moved, folded and stretched, and asked to breathe with it | Passive — you lie still and the therapist works around you |
| Lengths & prices | 45 min $80 1 hr $90 90 min $130 | 30 min $55 1 hr $80 90 min $120 2 hr $160 |
Both sit on the same published menu at full list price. No membership, no package, gratuity not included.
Two rows worth a second look
The shortest futon booking is 45 minutes, not 30 — the format doesn't compress well below that, because a good part of the session is getting you into and out of positions. The oil massage does have a 30 ($55) if a short session is what you need.
And "how active you are" is the row that decides it for most people. If your ideal massage ends with you not remembering the last ten minutes, book the table. If it ends with you standing up and immediately testing how far your shoulder goes now, book the mat.
— Book the table instead
When futon Thai is the wrong booking.
Four situations where the answer is something else on the menu. Two minutes here saves 45 minutes of quiet regret on the mat.
You want oil, or you want to fall asleep
Then book the oil massage. Futon work is quiet, but it's a moving quiet — no long uninterrupted stretch of warm oil down your back, and you keep getting repositioned. If what you're picturing is a warm table and a soft exit from consciousness, that's the Swedish or deep tissue oil massage.
Something is injured, recent, or currently being looked at
Assisted stretching moves joints through their range. Whether that's a sensible idea for a shoulder you hurt in April, a back a clinician is currently managing, or anything post-surgical is not a call we're qualified to make. Ask whoever is managing it, tell us what they said, and we'll work inside it. In the meantime a table session, at whatever pressure you choose, is the easier thing to keep control of.
Getting down to the floor and back up is a problem
Knees, hips, balance, a recent operation, or simply not fancying it — all perfectly good reasons. Reflexology happens in a recliner with only your shoes and socks off, and the oil massage on a table you can be helped onto. Either keeps the whole session at chair or table height.
You're pregnant
Book the prenatal session instead — a completely different set-up, side-lying on a table with bolsters and cushions, no floor work and no assisted stretching. And as always with pregnancy, your OB or midwife outranks this website: ask them, then tell us what they advised.
— Jeans, belts and a hair tie
Wear something you can bend in.
This is the one service on the menu that asks anything of you beforehand, and this is all it asks: leggings, joggers, gym shorts, a t-shirt — anything you'd wear to a yoga class.
The two things that genuinely get in the way are jeans and belts. Denim doesn't bend where the stretch needs it to, and a belt buckle ends up under somebody's forearm at exactly the wrong moment. A zip down the outside of a thigh is the same story. Take your watch off, and tie long hair back before you start — part of the session is face-down and part face-up, and it will be in the way of one of them.
Socks stay on or come off. And if you're coming straight from an office, bring something to change into: a shirt with no give in the shoulders quietly costs you half the stretches.
Prices are published rather than quoted — the hour is $90, the 90 is $130, both on the full price list. Hot stone is a $10 add-on but table-only: there's no oil-and-stones version of a futon session.
We're at 150 Pioneer Trail, in Chaska Commons at Highway 41 and Pioneer Trail, Open daily · Mon–Sat 9 AM–9 PM · Sun 9:30 AM–9 PM, free parking at the door. Walk in whenever a therapist is free — though the futon set-up isn't always open at peak hours, so for an evening or a Saturday call (612) 600-9298 first or book the 45 online. Drive times from neighbouring towns are on our Carver County page. The one thing worth doing tonight: put the loose clothes in the car before you forget.
— Every price published
Futon (Thai) massage — lengths & prices
Futon (Thai) Massage
Traditional Thai-style bodywork on a floor futon — acupressure, assisted stretching and yoga-like positioning. You stay fully clothed; no oil.
- Futon (Thai) Massage 45 min $80
- Futon (Thai) Massage 1 hr $90
- Futon (Thai) Massage 90 min $130
Wear loose, comfortable clothing you can stretch in.
Gratuity isn't included in the listed prices. Wear loose clothing you can stretch and bend in — no jeans, no belts. There's no oil in this service, so hot stone and other oil-massage add-ons don't apply to it.
— Before you book
Questions we get
most often.
Still unsure? Call (612) 600-9298 — someone at the front desk will actually pick up.
What is futon (Thai) massage?
Traditional Thai-style bodywork done on a padded futon on the floor rather than a table. Your therapist uses acupressure along with assisted stretching and yoga-like positioning — it's more active than a table massage, and it's done fully clothed with no oil.
Do I need to be flexible to book a futon Thai massage?
No. The therapist works inside the range you already have and stops at the end of it — the stretch is built around you rather than the other way round. People who can't touch their toes book this all the time. What matters far more than flexibility is telling your therapist when a position has reached its limit.
What should I wear?
Anything comfortable. For a futon (Thai) session, wear loose clothing you can stretch and bend in — no jeans, no belts. For reflexology, just be ready to take your shoes and socks off.
Is futon Thai massage supposed to hurt?
No. A stretch should feel like the edge of a stretch and pressure should feel like a manageable amount of pressure — never a fight, never something you're bracing against. Say so the moment it tips over, mid-position if you need to. Your therapist would much rather back off by an inch than have you spend the next ten minutes tensed up.
Can I add oil or hot stones to a futon session?
No — a futon session is done fully clothed with no oil at all, so oil-based extras don't apply to it. Hot stone is a $10 add-on to table massage. If you want oil and stones, book the oil massage and mention the stones when you book.
Is 45 minutes long enough for a first futon Thai session?
Yes — $80 for 45 minutes is the standard first booking and it covers the format properly. There's no 30-minute version because the session doesn't compress well: a real part of it is getting into and out of positions. If you already know you like this kind of work, the hour ($90) and the 90 ($130) give the therapist room to slow down.
Do I need an appointment, or can I walk in?
Both work. Day Massage takes walk-ins whenever a therapist is free, which is a large part of why people come to us instead of an appointment-only chain. That said, evenings and weekends do fill up — if you want a specific time, a specific length, or the couples room, book ahead online or call (612) 600-9298.
— Background reading
Deep tissue and Thai-style bodywork get talked about in some big terms online. We would rather point you at the neutral sources — see the NCCIH on massage therapy , things to know before you book , the Mayo Clinic on easing tension headaches and managing everyday stress .
These are educational references about massage in general, not claims about our services.
Day Massage is a relaxation and wellness studio, not a medical provider. Nothing here is medical advice — if something hurts in a way that worries you, see a clinician.
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